Bite the Bullet
by DuskWolf713
Summary: Betty doesn't think too much into it when she watched Jughead pull on the Serpent jacket, but soon Jughead begins to change, to distance himself, and she worries about the future of their relationship. Meanwhile Archie begins to develop more intense feelings for Betty than he ever realized before. Soon Jughead and Archie find themselves going head to head.
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

" _Are you going to talk to me about this?"_

Betty sat across from Jughead, her eyes watering. So, it was true? Everything Archie had told her… She couldn't bring herself to believe it. Currently Jughead was sitting beside her, his head in his hands, he was frustrated, and probably angry that Archie had told her the truth. The truth he had wanted to hide so desperately from her.

"Jug?" Betty said. "You need to explain this, why? Why would you think joining the serpents was a good idea?"

"Betty can you lay off a little?" Jughead questioned. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you! I knew you'd make a big deal out of it."

"The serpents Jughead!" she exclaimed. "Why? You know how dangerous they are!"

"Come on Betty, you know I'm not like them" Jughead said. "You really think I would be okay with doing the things they do? The stupid things they do."

Betty shook her head, disbelieving the whole thing, despite the tattoo of a coiled-up snake on his arm. She hated it.

"Your going to get hurt" she said. "Your going to end up dead Jug." Her eyes were watering now, and she was trying to do everything she could to hold them back. "Please you've gotta get out of this now while you can."

"There is no getting out" Jughead said adamantly. "Once you're in a gang you're in it for life."

Betty took his hand and looked into his eyes, her expression completely serious, though her blue eyes were alight with tears.

"What you did was stupid Jug" she said. "But I'm with you… I love you."

Jughead was taken by surprise at her comment and then his expression softened and he kissed her, taking her face in his hands tenderly. "I love you too" he replied. When he pulled away he then sat back, now more relaxed, and held her close, the two of them in one another's arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you" Jughead stated. "But know that this isn't going to change things, especially how I feel about you."

"And what about Archie?" Betty asked worriedly. "Are you ever going to patch things up with him?"

Jughead searched his mind for the right words. Archie had caused problems for him, calling Sherriff Keller had thrown his right into the crossfire. He was mad he'd told Betty too, after he'd begged him not to. In fact, it seemed like almost all his problems originated from him. But he was his best friend.

"I'm sure everything will be fine" Jughead replied. "We've known each other for forever pretty much, it'll take a lot more than what's happened to break us up for good."

Betty smiled and leaned into him, lying her head against his chest as she breathed him in. Being with him, it was the one place she felt safe. Safe from the world outside, and specifically, safe from the Black Hood. She knew he could protect her, and she trusted him with that. Because when Jughead Jones loved, it was with his whole heart, and she believed that one hundred percent.

"I'm glad we met" she said. "Everything changed that day."

But it wouldn't be long before Betty regretted those words. It wouldn't be long before the danger found her again. Little did she know her seemingly apple pie life would soon come crashing down all around her.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 _ **She's strong… but she's exhausted**_

Betty's eyes flew open, tears staining her cheeks. Her heart was beating frantically, and she gasped, taking in rapid deep breaths. When she realized she was awake she slowly began to calm down. It was that dream again. The Black Hood. He had finished them all off. They were all dead. All because of her. Because he wasn't the monster. She was. It wasn't his hands covered in blood… it was hers.

Betty walked into the bathroom, flipping on the light as she began to scrub at her hands. She wiped her tear stained cheeks with a piece of toilet paper and then sat down on the lid, rubbing her arms where chills bumps had risen. She could see her phone across the room, sitting on her nightstand. She was terrified of it. Terrified every time she heard it ring. Terrified who could be on the other end.

She made her way back to bed and shakily pulled her jacket and snow boots on as she walked down the stairs and out the front door. She needed some air, she needed to clear her mind. As she walked through the cold night, tasting the wintery crisp night air as she spotted Archie walking out of his house as well. He ran over to her.

"Archie?" Betty questioned. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same" Archie replied. "You weren't answering your phone all day, you had us all worried sick."

"I'm sorry Arch" Betty said.

"You were supposed to meet us at Pops for lunch, and now your out here walking in the middle of the night with the Black Hood stalking the streets?"

"I know, I'm sorry I didn't get back to anyone I just…" Betty said. Her voice broke off and for the first time Archie realized how tired she looked. There were bags under her eyes and they were red and watery. She looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks. Archie knew about the calls she'd gotten from the Black Hood, and she also knew how hesitant she was to talk about them, especially to tell Jughead. It was as if she was ashamed to tell him the truth.

"Betty, are you doing okay?" Archie asked worriedly. "You don't look too good."

"I just want to walk for a while" she replied, not wanting to explain her nightmares. The nightmare that had plagued her for weeks now, ever since the night she'd spend over with Jughead, the night she found out he was a serpent.

"Mind if I come with you?" Archie asked.

She knew how much he worried about the Black Hood, how much he worried about her involvement with her. She still hadn't told him about Nick St. Clair, how she had practically ordered his death.

"Sure" she replied. Archie smiled and walked alongside her as they walked down the sidewalk. The street lamps flickered as they went along. Both of them were silent as they walked, there was stuff on both of their minds.

"Archie, how's Jug been?" Betty asked.

"He's been worried sick about you" Archie replied. "But you won't see him."

"He has so much to deal with, the serpents, his dad being in jail, I don't need to put my burden on him too."

"Betty" Archie said harshly, making her stop dead in her tracks. "You're not a burden" he says. "You need to tell him the truth, the Black Hood is tearing you apart, tell me the truth, how longs it been since you slept? Really slept?"

Betty shook her head, tears burning in her eyes as she tried to hold them back. "I…" But she couldn't speak. Her tears were drowning her now. She started to cry and Archie pulled her to him. He held her tight and Betty cried into his chest. When would she ever feel safe again? When would he leave her alone? When would the nightmares go?

That night Betty broke down, her head resting against Archie Andrews, staining his letterman's jacket with her tears and mascara. And where was Jughead? She had pushed him away. It was her fault. She knew she needed to make things right.

 _ **Please review if you liked it! Feel free to give any ideas or suggestions!**_ _ **I would love to hear from my readers!**_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _ **And I was never sure, whether you were the lighthouse or the storm…**_

Betty stood at Jugheads door, standing and waiting. Standing and waiting. He was taking forever to come and she began to question whether or not he was home. When he finally opened the door, his eyes were wide in panic. "Betty what are you doing here?" he asked worriedly as he looked around.

"Is it a crime to want to see my boyfriend?" she replied.

Jughead took her hand and pulled her quickly inside. She was a bit panicked at his sudden move and the look in his eyes as he locked the door behind him.

"Jug what's going on?" she questioned.

"Ghoulies" he answered. "They're out for blood right now, ever since Archie called Keller and set a trap for them. Some of our guys got taken in, and so did theirs. But because of me the Serpents didn't get as harsh a price. The ghoulies are pretty mad. They're facing time, fines…"

It was then that Betty noticed how terrible he looked. His eye had a faint purple mark on it and his lip was scabbing over from a cut there. He'd gotten jumped, by the ghoulies she had assumed.

Betty wanted to comfort him, but instead she felt anger well up in her instead. "Jug what happened to you?" she questioned. She wanted the truth. She wanted to hear it from his mouth. She had been texting and calling him for days and with no response Betty had finally decided enough was enough and had gotten Archie to drop her off to go talk to him.

"It wasn't a big deal" Jughead replied. But she could catch it in his eyes, the way he couldn't completely meet hers.

"Jug don't do this" Betty said. "Don't lie to me, not about this."

Jughead let out a sigh and then turned away from the door and back to her. "Ghoulies" he confirmed. "But I'm fine Betty."

"So you got attacked by them and then just decided you wouldn't let me know" she shook her head. "I want to help you Jughead, that's what I'm here for."

"And I don't need to be worrying you with this stuff" Jughead replied quickly.

"I'm going to worry Jug, you can't ask me not to" she said matter of factly.

Jughead led her over to the couch and sat down beside her. "That's not your job."

"I told you I was with you to the end and I meant it" she said as she looked confidently into her eyes. "Just don't push me away like that, you _can't_ push me away like that."

"Come here" Jughead said as he put his arms out to her and she moved close to him, snuggling into him. He wrapped his arms around her and she was so close to him she could hear his heart beat. It was wild. He was scared. But then again so was she.

"I know this is going to take some getting used to" he said. "But I'm trying Betty, I'm sorry I've been pushing you guys away, but this life… it's… it's a lot. In fact, sometimes it's too much."

"I just wish you never would have done that" she said. "You're trapped now."

"You know I'd try to get out of it if I could" he said.

And then a deafening silence fell upon them and the mood of the room seemed to change entirely.

"Let's not talk about this anymore" he said. "How about a movie?"

But Betty Cooper did not respond. She had fallen asleep, her head resting gently against him, her whole body curled up to him. He hadn't realized how tired she'd been when she'd come here. He knew he wasn't being fair to her. All she wanted was his safety, and he had no right to be mad at her for that. He kissed the top of her head as she slept and for the first time in the past few days, he forgot his fear.

 _ **Reviews are much appreciated! I always read any reviews and respond as quickly as possible! Thank you for reading!**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

 _ **Tell them I was the warmest place you knew and that you turned me cold.**_

Jughead was drifting, it seemed he was drifting further and further away from his old Riverdale chums and more towards the Serpents. Betty still tried to reach out and spend time with him, and they did… but it was only about twice a week now, and it seemed like he was once again what he had called, "distancing himself." Betty was worried, constantly, and Archie saw how bad it was hurting her. She didn't even want to let the thought enter her mind that there could be someone else, but she was beginning to lose hope in them both. Archie had had enough and he made off towards Jugheads trailer one day after school had ended. And that's when he had caught it. Jughead in his trailer, kissing Toni.

He wanted to unsee it, he wanted to unsee it desperately. But there it was, right in front of him. He couldn't stop himself from banging on the door and trying to keep himself under control when Jughead answered the door.

"Archie? What are you doing here?" he asked. He seemed flushed, and his eyes were wide in alarm. He was trying to play dumb, but Archie wasn't going to let him.

"I saw you Jughead" Archie said though his teeth. "In there with Toni."

Jughead's confused and innocent expression feel and instead it was panic that spread across his face. "Archie, it wasn't like that…" he started.

"No?" he demanded. "How was it then?"

"She kissed me man" Jughead replied. "Before I even knew what was happening… it just… it happened…"

"Save it" Archie replied. He was so angry he had clenched his fists by his side, and his heart was racing frantically. His cheeks were almost as red as his hair. He turned and stormed away before Jughead caught the sleeve of his jacket.

"Archie wait!" he said.

Archie spun towards him, his eyes blazing.

"Ok, look I'm sorry, it was a mistake" Jughead said. "It… it was a stupid mistake, it won't happen again I swear…"

"Don't defend yourself to me Jughead" Archie said. "It's Betty you need to be apologizing to…" he stopped himself. "You know what? No, I meant… It's Betty you need to be getting down on your knees and begging her to forgive you, because she loves you Jug, and clearly you don't care."

"Archie, I do care! Of course I care!" Jughead said, his whole-body tense. "I love her Archie, I do, please just… you can't tell her…"

"You can't ask me to do that" Archie stated. "She deserves the truth."

"I know she does" Jughead replied. "And I'll tell her Arch, just please, _not now."_

Archie glared at him, everything in him was telling him to run straight to Betty. But Jughead was his friend. Then again, so was Betty.

"Do you have any idea what she's been going through?" he demanded. "What you've been putting her through?"

"I know I just…" Jughead searched for the right words. "It's just been crazy lately, with the Serpents and… we have these debts… and the ghoulies are not leaving us alone…"

"Are you really going to look me right in the eyes and lie to me?" Archie seethed. "Don't try for a second to defend how you've been treating her. Cleary, you have some time Jug, because from what I just saw you have plenty. And instead of spending it with her, you're over here kissing Toni!"

"I know I made a mistake okay?" he demanded.

"You know what Jug, your first mistake wasn't that kiss, you're first mistake was getting Betty involved in this twisted mess in the first place. You're a serpent, she's Betty" he stated. "You need to let her go Jughead, before she ends up hurt even worse."

"No" Jughead said. "I'm not going to hurt her like that."

"Then stop being a jerk to her, stop ignoring her texts, and getting back to her when you think fit, you're worrying her non-stop and that's not fair to her!"

Archie then turned and stormed off towards his car, he slammed the door shut and Jughead watched as he took off down the road, tires screeching. Jughead sighed and looked down at his phone, scrolling over Betty's contact before he changed his mind and pushed the phone back into his pocket. He'd talk to her. Archie was right, she deserved the truth, she deserved more than him. She deserved better.

 _ **Please review if you liked it!**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

 _ **She had blue skin. And so did he. He kept it hid. And so did she. They searched for blue their whole life through, then passed right by— and never knew. – Shel Silverstein**_

"Archie come on are we really doing this?" Betty asked as she looked up at him from her table at Pops. He held his hand out to her and smirked, she rolled her eyes and took it.

He spun her towards him and she giggled as the two of them danced across the diner floor. She looked up at him, and he felt better just seeing that smile that had been drowned by all the fear and worry she'd been dealing with lately.

"I'm just trying to take your mind off things, you need to cheer up a little" Archie explained. As she danced with him she couldn't help but think of Jughead, and how much she missed him.

When they finally sat back down, some color had returned to her cheeks, and she seemed to be feeling a little better, that was until she started thinking again, the momentary distraction now gone. Archie was still smiling when he looked over at her from across the table, only to see that she was scrolling through her phone, her eyes scanning it, searching once again, for a response from Jughead.

Pop came and sat down two milkshakes, she didn't even look up as he sat them down. She was biting her nails, her head turned towards the window as she looked out on the dark night.

"Hey Betty" Archie said as he called for her attention.

Betty turned away from the window quickly, seeming like she didn't quite remember where she was, as if she had forgotten he was there.

"Let's have a race, see who can get to the bottom of the glass first" he suggested.

"I don't know Arch…"

"Come on, it'd be fun" he encouraged.

She nodded, "Okay, okay let's do it."

Archie smirked triumphantly.

"Three, two, one, go!" he started.

The two began to suck down their milkshakes, each scanning their eyes from the milkshake then to each other then back again. Halfway through Betty started coughing from the coldness of the shake and she put her hands up to her head.

"Brainfreeze" she commented.

Archie finished his off seconds later and pushed the glass away, confidently. "That was too easy, you were aware we were racing right?" he teased.

She pulled the cherry off the top of her shake and flicked it at him.

It hit his cheek and before they knew it the two of them had made quite a mess of the table, each one of them covered in milkshake by the end.

"You can make just about anything into a competition can't you Archie Andrews?" Betty commented as the two of them walked towards home.

"It's just so much fun to beat you" he teased lightly. "So easy."

"Yeah?" she questioned. "I bet I can make it home first!"

But before Archie could even answer she had taken off ahead of him. He raced after her, and began to gain on her easy enough. He caught her and threw her over his shoulder easily. She giggled like crazy as she held onto him and he ran with her, headed towards her house.

"Archie this is so cheating!" she exclaimed.

"Hello? I'm helping _you_ win here" he replied as if she was crazy to suggest such a thing as him cheating.

She ignored his snide comment and continued to let him carry her. For the first time in a while, her sadness and worry and fear all disappeared. She didn't care if the Black Hood was out there, at least she had Archie beside her now. She didn't worry about Jughead, for just a second she didn't have to think about it. She was starting to feel like her old self again, the happy, blissful, girl next door with the heart even bigger than she was. Here she was with Archie, her best friend in the world, the boy she had had a crush on since they were kids, the boy who always seemed to be there for her right when she needed him.

Suddenly Archie came to a halt and when he put her back on her feet he understood why he had gone silent. Jughead was sitting on her front porch. And the look of hurt she registered on his face, was one she would never forget.

"Jughead?" she questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to surprise you" Jughead replied, his voice low as he kept his eyes trained on Archie. Betty rubbed her arm, a tell all sign of her nervousness, and she glanced over at Archie. He had his eyes locked on Jughead as well, something was off. There was something going on between the two of them. But she was too excited to think straight.

She ran over to Jughead and through her arms around him. He finally broke eye contact with Archie and closed his eyes as he held onto her. The brightness she carried with her was such a relief to his life, such a warming feeling, he couldn't bring himself to let her go. And that's what he had decided just hours ago. Archie had told him to let go, but he found himself, in that moment, holding onto her tighter than he ever had before. Because he loved Betty Cooper, despite what Archie thought. When he opened his eyes again, Archie was gone. He just caught the sight of his retreating form as he walked into his house, and slammed the door behind him.

 _ **Thanks a ton for reading! More chapters to come!**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

 _ **She was one of the rare ones, so effortlessly herself, and the world loved her for it.**_

Archie pulled off his dirt shirt and slid on a navy blue one as he got ready for school. He wasn't looking forward to going, sure he wanted to see Betty happy, back to her old self, but he also couldn't stand knowing how in love she was with Jughead, especially after he caught him kissing Toni. He had warned him he needed to let her go, and Jughead had obviously refused.

He found Betty at her locker and he walked over to her, for the first time, he was grateful Jughead went to the school in South Side and not here. Betty smiled as she saw him. She was bright and cheery, her blue eyes gleamed.

"Hey Arch!" she said happily. "What's up?"

"Just uh…" He debated in his mind whether to tell her the truth. He had missed that smile of hers, the way she seemed to light up the room wherever she went. There was not a single person at Riverdale that harbored ill feelings towards her. After all, how could they? Even Cheryl Blossom seemed to have no dirt on her. "Came to walk you to class."

"Well than let's go" she said as she linked her arm through his. The two bumped into Veronica on the way, and she took Archie's other arm as she kissed him on the cheek, leaving the faintest trace of her red lipstick.

Archie's cheeks reddened a little, as if he was embarrassed by his girlfriend's affection. But he wasn't embarrassed of her, after all how could he be? She was Veronica Lodge after all. They walked into the classroom and sat down beside each other, each one spaced evenly apart. Veronica sat behind him and she threw her arms over his neck as she leaned forward.

"Missed you over the weekend Archiekins" she commented. "It stinks you were sick, but you seem a little bit better now."

Betty caught her words and she focused in on Archie, looking confusedly over at him. Archie closed his eyes. _Crap, I'm caught. No I'm dead._

"Archie wasn't sick we went to…" The instant her words were out of her mouth she regretted them. She should have stopped sooner, because now Veronica was no longer hanging over Archie, now she was leaning back in her seat, her arms crossed as she waited for an explanation. Her eyes glared daggers into him, and it took everything in him not to turn away. When Veronica got mad, you had better watch your back.

"He was just helping me with some homework." Betty covered. "We went to Pops to study for a little. I knew he wasn't feeling well, but you know how important this test was to me V." That part at least was true, Betty had been stressing about this test all week.

Archie silently pleaded that the cover would work as he glanced over at her. "Veronica, I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you, I swear."

She sighed and finally her glare at him broke. "It was sweet of you to help her study" she commented. "That's my Archie."

She wanted to believe it so badly, she never could have let the thought in that Archie had lied to her because he'd wanted to spend time with Betty. No, that would be crazy. 1. Because Betty was her best friend, she trusted her. 2. Archie Andrews was just NOT that kind of guy. 3. They had both already said I love you, and there was no coming off of that.

Archie turned back to the front, just to see Betty glancing over at him worriedly.

He mouthed the words 'thank you' and Betty mouthed back,

'you better explain.'

As the class went on, all Archie could think about was how awful he felt for lying to her. It wasn't like he liked Betty, I mean she was his best friend, just like Jughead, nothing more. He just cared about her, he just worried about her. And above all, he just couldn't bare to see her upset over Jughead. But now he was back, and it seemed like he wasn't going anywhere. He hoped for the best, as he should. They were all with who they were meant for.

But as Archie let his chin rest over his crossed arms, as he finished his test, he couldn't help himself from looking out of the corner of his eye. He watched Betty as she filled in her test, she was so focused, she had stressed so hard over this test, but she was brilliant, there was no need for it. Everything about her was perfect it seemed, and the best part of it all was that she had no idea.

She was quiet, soft-spoken, she loved so deeply, nothing superficial about her. It only made Archie worry more for her. He had been crazy to tell Jughead to leave her, who in their right mind would do a stupid thing like that? How would he ever have bared the sight of her in pain after losing him? He hated himself for what he'd suggested.

 _Focus Archie, focus. You love Veronica. Your with Veronica. She's beautiful, and tough, and confident and clever. She has something too. I'm with who I want to be with, and I love her just as much as she loves me._

But as he told himself all of this, he just couldn't make himself believe it. Sure everything he first thought of was true. But it was the last part that he knew was a lie. Because it didn't matter how beautiful or funny or clever or smart or confident or charming she was. There was one problem. She wasn't Betty.

 _ **Looks like there are some doubts rising up in Archie… uh oh… read on to see what happens next! Comment if you have any idea or suggestions for future chapters!**_


	7. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

 _ **She broke her own heart holding onto him.**_

By the end of the day Betty caught up with Archie walking home and grabbed onto his arm. "Archie we need to talk" she said.

"About what?" he asked dumbly, though he knew exactly what. He hoped he would get away with it, but he should have known better. It was Betty after all. She was too smart for him, and he knew that.

"Why did you lie to Veronica?" she questioned. "She's my best friend, she deserves to know the truth."

"I…" Archie hesitated. "I just needed to make sure you were okay" he admitted. "With all that's been going on with you lately, I just wanted to try and cheer you up is all."

Betty smiled a little, "I appreciate your concern Arch, but I'm fine."

"Yeah for how long?" he said as anger suddenly took over his mind.

Her smile fell as she looked up at him, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean how long will it be until you go from 'fine' back to how you were?" Archie questioned. "How much longer will it be before Jug disappears on you again, stops responding to texts, ignores your calls, he'll do it again Betty and you know it."

Betty was clearly upset by his words as she pushed past him, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She couldn't think about that. She wouldn't allow herself to believe that he would leave her again.

Archie blocked her path. "Answer me Betty" he said. "Are you really going to let him keep treating you like this? What's it going to take for you to stop falling back into his trap, listening to his lies…"

"Where the hell is all this coming from?" Betty demanded. "Since when do you care Archie? Was it before or after Jughead came into the picture? I told you how I felt about you before and you shut me down Archie, _you_ shut _me_ down!"

"He's lying to you!" Archie finally burst out. He wanted to take it back, but it was too late. She was glaring up at him now, a look of complete confusion and hurt on her face.

Her voice quieted, "What are you talking about?"

Archie shook her head, closing his mouth. He couldn't do this. He could not force the words to come out. She deserved to know, but clearly Jughead didn't have any intention of telling her.

This time it was Archie that tried to walk away and Betty rushed over to him grabbing onto his jacket once again.

"You can't do that!" she said, her voice rising again, shaking with how worried she was. "What happened Arch?" And then she softened again as her fears got the best of her again. "Please."

Archie sighed as he looked down at her, he couldn't stand to see her so worried, and he braced himself for what he was about to say. He was going to be breaking her heart, he knew it. Why should it fall on him to tell her? Why couldn't Jughead just been honest with her. He claimed to love her, but if he did he would have confessed.

Archie sighed, "Call him" he said. "He should be the one to tell you."

Betty pulled out her phone and rushed ahead of him, her ear pressed to the phone. He wanted to be there for her, but he also knew how she was. How she always pushed people away when she was hurting. He hoped to hear from her again. And soon. He promised himself he would be there to pick up the broken pieces.

The next day Archie heard nothing from her, neither the next, or the next, he worried about when school would start again. They would be on winter break that week, and he knew he wouldn't be able to wait to here for her until then. So when Monday came and there was still no word from Betty, he made his way to her house and stood at the porch, knocking. When she finally answered, she came to the door with her eyes lowered, red rimmed, with flushed cheeks and eyes more tired and dull than he had ever seen before. Her nose was red and when she spoke, her voice was broken and hoarse.

"Hey" was all she could manage to get out.

"Can I come in?" Archie asked as a chill swept up his spine from the cold chill of the wind.

She nodded and opened it for him. She was still in pajamas and she walked over the couch where she had been sitting before she'd gone to the door. The fireplace was on, Elf was playing on TV, and she wrapped the blue and white snowflake blanket tightly around herself.

"How've you been?" Archie asked as he sat beside her, rubbing his hands together to warm them.

"I've been better" she answered. "I bet you could guess, I broke it off with him."

Archie nodded, "Did he say anything? Explain himself at least?"

"He told me it was Toni who kissed him, that it was a mistake…"

"Unbelievable" Archie said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "He's not taking any responsibility at all."

Betty smiled a little and placed her hand on his arm. "Its okay Arch" she said. "I've learned my lesson. Jughead just wasn't the right guy."

But it wouldn't be long before Betty found herself sucked back in yet again… and this time, placed in a more dangerous situation than ever before, with no way out.

 _ **PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU LIKED IT! Let me know what you think will happen next!**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

 _ **Those old feelings kept resurfacing, until I didn't have the strength to hold them down anymore…**_

She had been pulled in again, I knew it would happen again, but I should have known better to think that she'd actually listen to me. I glance up from my table as she walks in, Jughead with his arm around her, the two of them looking like the most content people in the entire world now that they had each other again. The whole thing made me sick. He was manipulating her. And I questioned what kind of a person could do that… could do that to Betty Cooper, the light in the darkness of Riverdale.

"Archie, are you even listening?"

I redirect my attention to Veronica, her eyes are on me, waiting, as if she's asked me something and I had missed it. I try to focus back on her.

"I'm sorry Ronnie" I say. "What was it?"

"I said how about you come skiing with me and my family over winter break?" she repeated. "It'll be better than hanging around Riverdale. Besides, have you seen how cute I look in a snowsuit?"

I smile at her and nod, "Yeah I'd love to go" I answer honestly.

"Hey guys, mind if we join?"

I look up to see Jughead, and glued to his side is Betty, I can't believe how quickly she was willing to forgive him. Before I can tell him to get lost Veronica grabs Betty and pulls her into the booth.

"Of course B" she says cheerfully. "I was wondering where you've been hiding all break…" she glances at Jughead. "And now it makes perfect sense."

Jughead slides in next to me and I try my best to put on a fake smile and act like everything between us is fine.

"You guys already order?" Jughead asks.

"Yeah" I reply at the same time that Veronica says "No."

Betty and Jughead exchange confused glances and Veronica seems just as confused as they do. Jughead turns to me,

"So which is it Arch?" he says in a way that hints that he's clearly annoyed. He's picked up on it. How I didn't want him here.

"Forget it" I huff. "I'm out of here."

"Archie we just got here…" Veronica protests.

"Yeah, what's going on with you?" Betty questions.

"Nothing I just need to go" I answer. But Jughead makes no attempt to move. "Jughead move I'm serious."

"Not until you tell me what's going on" Jughead replies.

The next thing I know I have shoved Jughead with all my might and forced him from the seat. He lands on the ground and the moment I step out he jumps to his feet and shoves me back.

"Guys stop!" Veronica shouts as she stands up, Betty gets to her feet too and walks over to stand between us. She puts a hand on Jughead's chest,

"Calm down" she says and then looks over at me. "What's the matter with you?"

I don't answer her. I walk out of Pop's hardly able to see straight. I just couldn't be around them, I needed to breathe, I needed to get out of there. Veronica runs up to me and makes me stop walking.

"Archie what is going on?"

But instead of me explaining all I can think to do is kiss her. I just needed to make it all stop. Just for a second. When I pull away she's looking up at me, she seems surprised by this and it instantly makes me feel guilty. I hadn't been neglecting her… had I?

"Ronnie I'm sorry…"

But she's not mad, this time she kisses me, and at the end she is clenching onto my jacket, all her questions and concerns are forgotten in that instant.

 _Jughead and Betty_

"You've gotta fix this Jug, whatever's going on between you and Archie" Betty says as she looks up at him from where she is lying against his chest. They had been spending some time in the trailer and Betty was looking forward to inviting Jughead to her house for her family's Christmas party, even Polly would be there.

"I haven't done anything" Jughead defends. "Somethings up with him…"

"And you should figure out why, come on you two are best friends."

"I don't know Betty…"

In all honesty, Jughead knew what it was that had sent him over the edge. He had come back into Betty's life, after he had told him to leave her alone. He had never wanted to hurt her, not ever. But things had been rough lately, with the Ghoulies becoming more aggressive everyday, it was a rare occasion when some territory war wouldn't break out with the Serpents. He hadn't meant to ignore her, in a sense he was just trying to keep her safe, to keep her from seeing things that a girl like Betty should never have to be subjected to.

She was the light of his life, his everything. He had been stupid to let her go, and he wouldn't make that mistake again. She deserved his all. He had to try for her. All he wanted was to make her happy.

"Okay" Jughead said at last. "I'll meet up with Archie and talk to him."

She smiled, her blue eyes coming alive and she kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thanks Jug."

Jughead smiled and then he got up to go refresh their snack bowl that the two of them had devoured together watching one of his favorites, Scream. No matter how cheesy it was or how blatantly stupid the main characters were who got themselves so easily killed, Jughead loved it. He especially loved when Betty would hide her face in his shoulder and grab tightly onto his arm anytime the cliché "scary music" picked up. She always knew it was coming and she was prepared.

"Hey, can we watch something else?" Betty questioned. "How about The Proposal?"

"Betty…" Jughead started.

"Please?" she continued.

Jughead plopped back down beside her, almost spilling the bowl of M&M's and popcorn. "Okay" he said. "This isn't some kind of chic flick is it?"

Betty got up and slid the DVD in. "Shhh, you'll love it."

He was doubtful, but he always chose the movies, and he was pretty sure she was getting sick of horror and black and white classics. Though she did adore Gone With the Wind and actually seemed interested in Frankenstein. She came back and sat beside him and he laid the blanket over them both. It was halfway through the movie, when Betty got quiet, that he realized she was sound asleep. She was still holding onto him, she seemed so at peace in that moment.

He had been noticing how tired she had been lately, and he only assumed it was because she was overworking herself with studying. She was Betty after all, getting perfect grades was essential, whereas Jughead would be lucky to graduate at all at the rate he was going. He had missed countless assignments thanks to the Serpents, and he never had time to study, it seemed like starting now would be pointless. So he decided instead to dedicate his time to Betty, he would not shut her out again, he would fix things with Archie, he would try to get his life back together. He owed it to her, and he owed it to himself.

 _ **Please review! Looks like it's the calm before the storm…. Read on! Let me know if you want to see more BettyXJughead, BettyXArchie or VeronicaXArchie!**_


	9. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

" _ **You're not going to lose me."**_

 _ **We drink the poison our minds pour for us and wonder why we feel so sick….**_

Betty sat bolt upright in Jughead's bed. Her heart was racing, and she was gasping for air, trying anything to stop seeing the blood. To stop seeing death. She was quite literally seeing red. The Black Hood was watching her, always watching her. Even in sleep she couldn't escape him. He followed her into her dreams, stalked her precious memories and turned them to darkness. He was a deadly poison, dripping into her slowly, and filling her with toxin that choked her like thick black clouds.

 _There she was, standing beside Sweet Water River, the bodies of her friends all laid mutilated before her, their blood spilling out onto the green grass. But one was missing, she'd had the dream countless times but this was different. Jughead appeared from behind the trees, his eyes wide in clear horror as he stared at her, his mouth hanging wide open. He looked at her in utter revulsion._

" _Betty, what happened?" he questioned. "What did you do?"_

" _No…. it…. It wasn't me Jug… I didn't…"_

 _Suddenly blood appeared on her hands, and soon she found she was clutching a butcher knife in her hands. She dropped in instantly and shook her head as she backed away. Then she heard choking gasps from below and she looked to see Archie was still alive, he pressed his hands to his bleeding chest and looked up at her with sweat plastered to his forehead._

" _I told you not to trust him…" he choked out._

 _Betty was confused by his words, as tears fell down her cheeks. She felt someone step up behind her and drape their arms over her shoulders. She spun around. Jughead stood there, a wicked grin on his face, now he was holding the knife. This was different. This dream wasn't just about the Black Hood anymore, in fact it wasn't about him at all. It was about Jughead. His serpent jacket was covered in the blood of their friends._

" _We did it Betty, now no one will ever get in our way again, not Archie, not Veronica, not your parents, we can do whatever we want now."_

" _No!" she shouted as she shoved him away. "I would never hurt them!"_

 _Jugheads smile fell and his eyes darkened as she stepped towards her, "You already did." He glanced over at Archie who was clutching his chest, right where his heart was. She didn't know what he meant. "You'll be a serpent before long, it's only a matter of time."_

" _No!" she screamed. This time she lunged at him, punching him square across the jaw. His head jerked to the side and he just chuckled as he pressed his hand to it, popping it back into place._

" _You're not perfect Betty, you're not some saint. Maybe you could have had a chance with the all-American boy over there, but not with me. A leopard can't change his spots, no matter how hard you try to fix me."_

 _Suddenly she gasped in pain as a firey white hot pain shot through her. She looked down, the butcher knife was in her side, and Jughead's hand was on the handle._

Betty quickly covered her mouth to keep her breathing under control as she scooted away from Jughead. All she could see was that killer, sociopathic look in his eyes when he'd appeared behind her. And then the knife…. That was what had propelled her from her dream.

Jughead was still asleep, he had always been a deep sleeper, and for once, Betty was thankful. She couldn't face him now. She couldn't. Not like this. He had a serene look about him as he laid there in a t-shirt and boxers, lying on his side, small puddle of drool on his pillow. His chest rose gently, she silently slinked away from him.

She walked outside, she didn't know where she was going. She knew she couldn't walk all the way home at this hour and even if she could it would take a while on foot. All she knew was she needed to calm down. The night air was cool and crisp and she breathed in lungful after lungful of it as she walked. Flashes of her nightmare sent her reeling again and she leaned against the side of a lamp post as she tried to recompose herself. She couldn't go back to Jug's not now. She pulled out her phone and wavered over Archie's name. The last time she had seen him he'd knocked Jughead out of the booth at Pop's. He was in a bad mood lately it seemed, and after a moment she scrolled over to Veronica's instead.

She texted her, but right after the text went through she realized it was 2 AM and there was no way she'd still be awake. She went back to Archie again and called him, running out of options. She was surprised when she heard his voice on the other end. He sounded strange, and it sounded as if someone else was there.

"Betty what is it?" he asked. "You do know it's 2 in the morning right?"

"I know I just…" She needed to see if he'd come get her, at least to drive her back to her house. But then stopped short when she heard Veronica's voice.

"Archie who is it?" she asked.

Now she knew what they were up to…. Why else would they both be up so late. She tried to clear her mind of it.

"Never mind" Betty replied quickly.

"Are you sure?" Archie replied. "Are you okay?"

"Fine" Betty answered. "I'll talk to you later Archie." And then she hung up. She decided it was time to head back to Jughead's trailer. There would be no going home tonight.

When she got back Jughead was not in his bed. She spotted him in the bathroom and he turned around as soon as heard the door open. He rushed over to her and hugged her. "Betty where the hell have you been?" he questioned. "I woke up and you were just gone, you can't do that to me Betty."

She realized he seemed on edge, and she wondered if something else was going on that he wasn't telling her. She'd only been gone about ten minutes. He realized that she'd been crying as he looked at her closer and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Betty what happened?" he asked.

"Nothing Jug I'm fine" she replied as convincingly as she could.

"You didn't run into any Ghoulies or anything did you?" he questioned. "You look all shooken up."

"Why should I be worrying about ghoulies Jug?" she questioned worriedly. She had never thought of them as a threat to her. Sure they'd gone after Jughead a few times, but she'd never assessed any danger to herself.

"You shouldn't" he covered quickly.

But she could tell he was hiding something.

"Jug, what happened?" she asked.

"Nothing I just…. I want you to be careful around here at night okay?" he returned.

She shook her head. She'd had enough. She suddenly remembered what Archie had told her, how he had said he was lying to her. And how she had called him and found out about Toni. He'd been lying to her then, and she wondered what else he could be hiding.

"I'm done with the lies Jughead" she said angrily. "If something were to happen to you…"

"It won't" he assured her. "The Serpents have my back."

"Until they don't" Betty finished for him. "What's going to happen when they turn their backs on you Jug? When there's no one left to protect you? Am I supposed to just accept that I'm going to lose you?"

Jughead sighed, pushing his hand through his thick black hair in his frustration. He then looked her directly in the eyes and reached out for her hand. She held onto him as his hands engulfed hers. "Hey, you're not going to lose me." He stated. "I promise Betty."

"They haven't tried anything? Made any threats?" Betty asked, clearly not convinced. He hesitated and then quickly covered it as he kissed her, placing his hand on her face. She melted into his warmth.

"You're safe with me." He assured her. "You trust me right?"

Betty thought back to her nightmare. She remembered the fear and pain in Archie's eyes and his words echoed in her head. _I told you not to trust him._ But when she was with him she did feel safe, she felt like he would protect her from anything. He was tough, stronger than she knew. He was survivor.

"I do" she replied. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

He smirked and nodded, "Anything for you Betty Cooper."

 _ **Please review! Yes this was another Bughead chapter but I was requested to do another chapter with them from a guest reviewer named Leah. I got her review before the guest who asked for more Barchie, so I had to answer her's first! Thanks so much for all the support I have gotten for this fic!**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

 _ **She loved so much she lost herself...**_

Being a part of his world. That is all Betty had wanted. She had accepted that he was a Serpent now and all that went along with that. She didn't mind, as long as she could be with him. She sat across from Archie at Pop's, waiting for Jughead to meet them. She had told Archie her plan. It would be six months after today that they had been together, and she wanted to do something special. She had everything set up at her house, and couldn't wait to celebrate with him. Archie was planning something as well. He had come to sit down with them both, ready to fix things with his old best friend.

Jughead walked inside, but he wasn't alone. A couple of serpents were with him, including Sweet Pea. Archie and Betty exchanged glances, Archie moved a little closer to her, and sat a little taller as they approached the table, his eyes focused in on them.

"Hey guys" Jughead began. "This is Sweet Pea, and then there's Fox and Stryker he said gesturing to them. Sweet Pea was towering over the group. Fox was watching Archie closely, his eyes dark and mysterious. Stryker had shaggier hair, dirty blonde, and his blue eyes were murky and unclear, which gave off a distrustful presence. Betty stood and smiled as she held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

They all glanced at each other as if trying to decide what to do, Sweet Pea was the first to reach out and take my hand. His eyes were so focused on me it made me feel a bit self-conscious, like he was looking right through me.

"Pleasure's ours" Sweet Pea replied.

Jughead glanced over at him, seeming a bit concerned as well before he walked past him and sat down beside Betty. He was so close to her that it pushed her more against Archie until she was like a sardine squeezed into a can. His friends filled in across from him. Sweet Pea was directly across from Archie, Fox across from Betty, and Stryker across from Jughead.

Betty glanced over at Archie, she could feel the heat coming off of him. She looked down to see he was clenching his fists, placing one hand in the other as he rubbed them together. She had been his best friend since they were in Kindergarten and she recognized this. He was getting mad. Betty placed a hand lightly on his arm, and Archie turned his eyes off of Sweet Pea and back to her. She silently pleaded with him to relax and he nodded shortly in understanding, just so subtly that no one else could tell.

"So what are we having?" Jughead asked.

"I ordered for you already" Betty answered. "Double thick burger, large fry, chocolate milkshake right?"

"Thanks Betty" he replied as he took her hand in his.

The other serpents put in a order just as Pop walked back to check on the table and they snickered as he walked away. "This is gonna take all day" Sweet Pea said. "What they couldn't afford more staff than the old timer over there?"

"Hey..." Archie started.

But Betty cut him off to keep things from escalating, "So your all good friends of Jug's?" she asked.

Sweet Pea kept his eyes on Archie as he answered, taking a bite of his burger. "Yeah great friends" he replied over his mouthful of food. "We all got each other's backs."

"That's right" Fox spoke up as he clapped him on the back.

"You two seem cozy" Sweet Pea said as he looked between Betty and Archie. "How long you known each other?"

"Since we were little kids" Betty replied with a small smile.

"Aww" Sweet Pea said with a smirk as he glanced over at Archie. "That's so adorable." The way he spoke sounded like he was talking to a baby and as he chuckled a little Archie scrunched up the bottom of his jacket at he glared at him.

"Must really suck seeing her with a guy like Jughead huh Arch?" Sweet Pea asked.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Jughead demanded as he glared over at him.

"Just teasing" Sweet Pea replied calmly as he crossed his arms behind his head. "We all know Jughead here is ten times the man you are Andrews."

This time Archie leaned forward, slamming his hands on the table. "You better shut up."

"Yeah? You gonna make me?"

"Archie it's okay, let's all just relax" Betty intervened.

Archie leaned back and tried to calm down but Sweet Pea wasn't done.

"Man, Betty here must be quite the flame to have both of you drooling over her." Betty's cheeks reddened at this and Jughead caught him with a threatening stare. He was warning him. Sweet Pea was clearly enjoying all the attention. Archie's was tense in his seat, his face red as well but for another reason than embarrassment. "How's it feel Bet's having such a hold over both of them?" He looked over at Archie. "Just stringing him along as he watches you like a lovesick puppy."

Jughead scooted away from the table in that moment and grabbed onto Sweet Pea's jacket, pulling him away from the table by the front of his jacket. "Get out of here" Jughead said as he stared him down. He looked over at Fox and Stryker. "You too."

Sweet Pea shoved him away. "Did you not see the way he's been looking at us since the moment we stepped inside? He thinks he's so much better, he looks at us like we're criminals, nothing more."

Archie looked over at him from where he sat on the other side of Betty. He didn't say a word. Because in his mind it was true. They were too different, and he didn't expect them to change.

Sweet Pea turned and left the diner, Fox and Stryker were right behind him.

Jughead turned to Archie, and took his seat across from him. "I'm sorry about all that man."

"Jug it's okay" Betty said at the same time that Archie spoke.

"Why would you bring them here?" Archie demanded.

"Arch..." Betty started. "It's okay."

"No Betty it's not" Archie said, the anger clear and strong in his voice. He could tell how rattled she was and how uncomfortable they were both feeling. "Jughead, I was trying to give you a chance tonight, I wanted to fix things, but then you bring _them_ without even telling us? This place is for our friends. You, Betty, me, and Ronnie. Not some corrupt Southside serpents."

"Hold it" Jughead said, now his voice was rising too. "I'm one of those 'corrupt Southside serpents' now, and if you can't accept them, then you can't accept me."

"Guess I can't" Archie replied. "Not if your going to hang out with them, and let them treat your friends like them... let them talk to Betty like that..."

"I told him to leave didn't I?" Jughead questioned. "What else do you want from me?"

"You should have knocked that jerk to the ground for what he said" Archie replied. "If it wasn't for Betty not wanting me to make a scene, I would have hit him the second he started targeting us."

"Since when did you care so much about what Betty wanted?" Jughead questioned. "Maybe Sweet Pea was on to something after all. What are you not telling me?"

"You want the truth?" Archie demanded. "I love Betty, I always have, and I'll be damned if I ever let anyone screw with her the way that guy was."

Jughead was left in shock by his words and he stood angrily to his feet. "Betty come on" he said. He started to walk away but Betty didn't move. Jughead turned towards the table.

"Betty."

"I'll text you later" Betty said, her mind still reeling with what Archie had just admitted. She needed to talk to him about it. She needed to understand where this had come from.

"Don't bother" Jughead stated as he pulled on his Serpent jacket. "Have a good night."

He walked out the door and she listened as his motorcycle pulled out, and long until it disappeared. She glanced over at Archie.

"Arch..."

"I'm sorry Betty, I shouldn't have said what I did. It was stupid."

"Then why did you?" Betty asked.

"I just..." Archie started as he let out a breath. "Betty, I can't keep sitting back and watching you be with him, with someone like him, he's going down a bad road, and you're going to end up hurt."

Betty shook her head. "You can't... Archie... you can't"

Her eyes were watering and a tear dripped down her cheek. "You... your with Veronica, I'm with Jughead, we're with who we're supposed to be. Why couldn't you just be satisfied with that?"

"She doesn't love me Betty" Archie said. "I told her, I told her I loved her, and she didn't feel the same, she doesn't..."

"You told her you loved her?" Betty asked. Her eyes shone with hurt and she shook her head. "How can I trust you Arch? When you just throw that word around like it doesn't mean anything. First it was Grundy, then Valerie, then Veronica, and now it's me?" She shook her head. "I won't do this, I can't do this to her and I can't do this to Jughead."

And that's when it happened. That's when Archie Andrews leaned forward and kissed her, in the heat of the moment, in the heat of all the frustration and uncertainty.

She pulled away, and her eyes widened as she stood and pushed past him, heading out of the booth.

"Betty wait!" Archie took her hand and she pulled away.

"No Archie!" she said. "Just stop!"

She then ran from the shop and Archie was left standing in the doorway. He slammed his hands into the door and paced for a moment as he tried to reason with himself. _That was stupid. What was I thinking?_ But a part of him was glad to have it out in the open now. There would be no more hiding it. But he hoped more than anything that he hadn't just lost Betty forever. And he knew that when Jughead found out, that would be the final straw. There would be no friendship to fix.

 _ **Please let me know how you guys liked this chapter! This was super hard to write because I love all 3 of these characters so much! I still don't know who I'm going to have her end up with! There are things I love about Jug and things I love about Archie, and things I hate about them both. I know I am describing Archie as a hot-head a lot but that's just how I picture him because of how close he and Betty are.**_


	11. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

 _ **And as you sit there, thinking of everyone's feelings but your own, you wonder if the moon comes up at night so the stars don't feel alone...**_

Betty starred out her window, her head resting on the palm of her hand. She'd watched Archie pass by a few times, and when he finally looked over at her, she couldn't stop herself from yanking the curtains closed. She was angry at him for what he'd done, Jughead was angry with her for staying with Archie. And she knew that sooner or later she would need to tell Veronica about what had happened with Archie. He had been crazy to kiss her, he had cheated on Veronica, cheated on her best friend. And she had let it happen, so she was at fault too. She could have stopped it, but when he had kissed her, she couldn't stop thinking about how great it had felt. She had been taken by surprise of course, and maybe it was shock she was feeling. Her phone buzzed on her desk, and she picked it up, hoping it was Jughead. She had sent him dozens of texts, telling him they needed to talk, and that she was sorry for not coming with him.

The night was supposed to be all theirs tonight. But she had come home, put everything she had set up for their dinner away, and had felt her cheeks gradually becoming wetter as she did so. She loved him, and tonight she wanted to show him just how much. But now he wasn't answering her, and she was left feeling only guilt. _I can't break her heart, I can't admit anything... and Jug, what is he going to think? He'll never forgive Archie for that. I can't do that to him, not after he's been trying so hard to fix things._

As she thought about all this she realized she had forgotten about her phone and she went back to it, seeing that it was not Jughead but Archie.

 _Please Betty, can we talk? I don't want things to be weird between us_

 _You should have thought about that before you kissed me, everything was fine until then. You were the one who wanted to be just friends Arch, you can't just change your mind like that all the sudden._

And then she put her phone down only to return to it seconds later as she sent another text to him.

 _You need to tell Veronica._

But this time there was no response, and she agonized over whether he would or not. In the meantime, she found her feet taking her to the front of Jugheads trailer. She knocked a few times but there was no response. And as she turned to leave Jughead opened the door.

She turned around and smiled a little as she saw him. He was in a dark shirt and jeans and for once, he wasn't wearing his beanie.

"Hey."

Jughead crossed his arms. "Now you decide to show up? What was Archie busy?"

"Can we not do this?" Betty asked. "I just wanted to see you."

"Ok, then I want you to answer something first" he said. "If Archie told you he wanted to be with you, would you leave me?"

"Jug..." Betty started, "Don't be ridiculous."

"Answer the question" he cut in. "I want it straight."

Betty shook her head. "I want to be with you Jug, it'll always be you."

He smiled a little at that, as he looked at her. The most perfect girl in all of Riverdale, perhaps in all the world, was looking at him. Was choosing him. She was here, not with him, and that was all that mattered.

Betty spent the night with Jughead that night, not thinking about anything else. Meanwhile Archie was sitting in his room, thinking about Betty, and what he could have done differently. What a fool he had been. Veronica was great, she deserved someone who could make her happy. For the longest time he had thought that it was him. He knew deep down though, that as long as he felt for Betty, he and Veronica could never work. He picked up his phone and waited as the phone rang. He was going to break her heart that night. He was going to ruin the one good thing he had left in his life. Betty was right, she deserved to know the truth.

"Hey Archiekins" Veronica said happily as she picked up. "What are you up to?"

"Veronica I... there's something I need to tell you" Archie started.

"Wait, before you do, I wanted to remind you about our Christmas Eve party tomorrow night. You are still coming right? Daddy's been setting up for most of the day today, I've never seen him try to go all out like this before" she said. "It's going to be amazing."

"Oh... I yeah..." Archie replied. "Course I'm still coming."

"Great!" Veronica replied. "Now what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh, just that, I wasn't sure if I needed to bring anything or..."

"No worries" Veronica answered. "We've got it all taken care of."

As their call ended, Archie shook his head as he slammed his phone down beside him. He'd forgotten all about that party. And even more about her father. He remembered the talk they had had that night in his study. How he'd told him in a somewhat threatening way that he better not ever break his little girls heart. He knew he was trapped, and he sighed as he thought about what to do next. _Maybe Veronica doesn't need to know everything, not just yet._ He remembered how he had hounded Jughead about telling Betty the truth about Toni, how he'd been so angry for keeping it to himself, and now he understood why. He knew he couldn't do it. Not to Veronica.

 _What kind of guy could do that? I mean, even Jughead told Betty the truth. So why can't I do the same? She had still loved Jughead through that, so maybe Veronica would do the same._

But as he thought the words over he had to remind himself of one thing. Veronica Lodge was not the same as Betty Cooper. He didn't know how she would take it. He knew there was no way she would forgive him. But as usual, Archie found himself struggling with what he wanted. The girl next door? Or the mysterious, and clever new girl, Veronica Lodge. He would make his decision final. And he would do it tomorrow night, at the Lodge Christmas Party.

 _ **Thank you all for reading! I am starting to run a little short on ideas, so any suggestions would be great! Thinking of ending this fic in the next two chapters.**_


	12. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

 _ **When you can't look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark...**_

I hit the ground hard, my head taking the majority of my weight as I fell into the rain-trodden street. I watched as my blood filled the puddles beneath me and flowed over the water until it was carried away from me. For just a second, it felt good to watch it disappear, but then the pain came, as a boot crashed into my side, and then another, and another.

"So much for being the son of FP" one of them taunts. "At least he had the guts to fight back."

And then I'm on my feet again, without another second to waste. I can't stand the shame it would bring for me to lie there and let them curse me from where they stood. I lash out with my fist, striking something solid, but in the darkness, it's hard to tell what. A nose? A jaw? His chin maybe?

Another crushing blow sends me falling to the ground, and I lie there for a moment with my face to the ground, I just want it to be over. I feel weight on back as one of them presses down and I cough against the pressure building in my chest.

"Remember this Jughead" the voice says. "You may think your untouchable now that you're a serpent, but now you know, that as long as you continue to rat us out, we'll never go away. Tell me where are your serpents now?"

Jughead thought this over for a moment. They had promised to have his back, and he had trusted them, but here he was... cornered. And his gang was nowhere in sight. Had they truly abandoned him?

"Back off Ace."

I recognize the voice and for once, I feel relief run through me. It's Sweet Pea. "Tall Boy ain't gonna let this slide, now you better get out of here before the rest of us show. This is our territory and don't you douche's forget it."

The one pressing down on my back takes a step back, and I can only assume that was Ace.

"Tall Boy isn't gonna keep us away forever boy" Ace says.

"He's not who you have to worry about" another voice chimes in.

This time it's Fox speaking, and I can only assume that means Stryker is with him. "FP is gonna want blood for this."

"Your an idiot for coming this far into Serpent territory" Stryker states. "You heard Sweet Pea... get the hell out of here."

I listen as their footsteps fade, without another word. My vision is blurry, but knowing that the other Serpents are behind me I try and push myself shakily to my feet again. I trip a little and Sweet Pea catches me, he supports me as he holds me away from him and tries to get me to look at him.

"You okay?" he asks. "How bad is it?"

"Fine" is all I can manage to get out before the world starts to shift and grow fuzzier. The last thing I remember is falling, and then darkness.

I awake a while later, my head on fire, my body racked with pain. I'm in my same clothes, and now in the light, I can see that my shirt and jacket are caked in blood. I reach up to touch the sensitive spot on my head and wince as I feel the dried blood there. I heave myself off the couch, stepping over Hotdog who was lying on the floor right beside me, waiting for me to wake up. I go to the bathroom and look in the mirror. My hair is greasy and dirty from the rainwater, the wound on my head is worse than I realize as I examine the deep cut. It's glistening as if it's ready to bleed again. There's some dry blood around my nose, and I undress as I prepare a shower. Once my shirt is off I'm surprised at the damage. There are angry bruises all along my ribs and when I take a breath in, a sharp pain travels through me.

I step into the shower and watch as the blood and dirt pool around my feet and disappear down the drain. I get out and throw on some sweet pants and a wife-beater. I bandage the wound on my head, and move slowly to the couch. I'm exhausted, and can hardly keep my eyes open as I make my way there. I just needed to sleep. Just a little longer.

A knock on the door wakes me after what only feels like a couple minutes. I sigh as I sit up and rub my eyes tiredly. Somehow everything hurts more than it did a while ago, and it takes me a moment to stand. I peak out the curtain and when I see Betty, my eyes widen. I looked terrible, and I knew it would concern her, I hesitate for a moment and before I can walk back to the couch she speaks.

"Come on Jug, the party is going to start without us!"

The party... Veronica's Christmas party, I had almost forgotten. I had promised to go with her, and we had planned to leave here at 6 oclock. I look across the trailer to the kitchen clock. 5:45. _Crap._

I walk as quickly as I can to my room and pull off the clothes I'm in, cringing in pain when I stretch the wife-beater over my head. I grab the suit I had gotten for the party and try to button it, but she's knocking louder on the door, and I know I need to hurry. The door opens and I hear Betty gasp behind me. It was too late. She knew.

"Jug... What..."

She can't even finish the sentence and I know it must be because of how much she was hurting seeing me like this. I try to rectify the situation as I walk over to her with a smile on my face like everything is fine. And when I see her, it is, because she takes what little breath I had away. She's wearing a beautiful semi-formal lace dress that falls short and a light winter fur around her shoulders. Her hair is down, for once, and her blue eyes are sparkling.

"Betty... you look beautiful."

She doesn't hear me though, I can tell by the way her eyes are roaming over me, her eyes are watering her smile is gone.

"Jug" she whispers as she shakes her head and then sits down, putting her hand over her mouth. I can tell she's trying to keep from crying and I walk over to her, the top of my suit in hand as I sit beside her. She doesn't need to ask me what happened. She knows.

"It's okay" I assure her. "I'm fine."

"No Jughead, you're not fine, have you seen yourself?"

I take her hand and rub it soothingly as I look over at her. "The serpents had my back."

"Don't lie to me" she says. "You promised..." She is looking right at me now, her eyes travel up to my head, "No more lies."

I let out a breath and can't help but wince. I know it's a mistake and she takes notice of it like I knew she would.

"How bad does it hurt?" she asks.

 _You promised... no more lies._

"It sucks Betty" I answer honestly. "But I told you that being with me... it wasn't going to be easy."

"I understood that" she replies softly. "But this Jug... how much longer are you going to be able to take it?"

"As long as I have to" I say. "I've gotten some of the drug dealers away from serpent territory, but as long as I keep turning them in, they're going to want payback."

"Then stop" she says simply. "Please just stop." Her voice breaks in those last words and this time I watch as a tear spills down her cheek.

"I have to watch out for the serpents" I say as I place my hand on her cheek and wipe the tear away with my thumb. "I can't let the ghoulies drag them down."

"That's not your job Jug" she says. "It's FP's, you're not him, you can't do what he does."

That stung, and I let go of her hands as I narrow my eyes at her. "You don't think I'm strong enough do you? You don't believe I can do this."

"No" she responds instantly. "It's too big Jughead, you know it is."

There it was. The truth. She didn't have faith in me. She didn't believe that I could lead them. And that hurt deeper than anything. I lean away from her, clenching the sides of the couch. I wanted to prove it to her. I wanted to prove to everyone that the Southside was better than they all thought. If she didn't support me, how could I expect her to stay with me? How could I help anyone if all I saw was pity and concern when my own girlfriend looked at me. I could see how tired she was, how much she worried and how much it must have weighed on her seeing me this way. Maybe it was better if I disappeared for a while. Tonight I would go, like I promised her. But then I'd need to distance myself, to get back on track with the serpents, to stomp out any rumors about them. To keep them clean. Once they were under control, then I would be ready. I'd be able to show her, to look her in the eyes and have her look at me with pride, not worry.

"We'd better get going" I stated. "We're already late."

 _ **Okay guys! I worked a little harder on this chapter! Hope you all enjoy! Merry Christmas!**_


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

" **Do not go where the path my lead... go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."**

 **Ralph Waldo Emerson**

Something was wrong. Betty could tell by the way Jughead was standing with his back to her, his hand over his mouth. He was stalling. He was nervous. After the great night the two of them had had at Veronica's party, Betty had assumed everything was fine, but she did notice him glancing occasionally at the clock towards the end of the night, as if he was counting down the seconds until he would have to cut her off yet again.

Jughead turned to her, biting his lower lip as he took a unsteady breath. "Betty..." he began, "We gotta talk."

Betty narrowed her eyes at him. She had heard these words before and they never lead to anything except heartbreak. She couldn't let herself hear the words that were about to come.

"Things have been great, and I want you to know before I do this that I love you."

"No" Betty said, shaking her head adamantly. "No your not doing this to me again."

"We need to stay away from each other for a while" he says, his voice nearly breaking as he does so.

"Jug..." she replies. "You can't... not again."

Things had been getting better for her again. Ever since he had come back into her life she had been more happy than she had ever felt possible. The nightmares had stopped, the fear, the sadness, the depression, it had all vanished.

She reaches forward and places her hands on his cheeks. He can't stand to look into her eyes as they fill with tears. He knew the guilt would never leave him.

"I love you Jug, and if there's any doubt, if you are worried about the Serpents, we can get through it together."

"Betty stop" he says as he takes her hands and holds them in his. "I love you too, but we just... we aren't good for each other. Not like this."

"Just talk to me" she begs. "Help me understand why you're doing this!"

He shakes his head, "Goodbye Betty Cooper."

He moves forward and kisses her cheek and she felts her cheeks warm. She shoves him, her anger surfacing. "Get out of here Jughead, and don't you dare think about coming back."

He swallows the ache in his throat, the burning pain rising up there, and takes a few steps back before he turns away from her and heads down the street. Betty watches him go, her arms crossed, her heart beating frantically. Her chest aches, and as she sucks in the icy air she feels it enter her like a poison. Everything in her telling her not to let him walk away, despite what he's done yet again. But her feet hold her in place and she sits down where she once stood as she brings her knees close to her. This time there are no tears. It's as if they've all been used up. She watches him go with no feeling at all.

 _2 months later..._

He watched her as she stared blankly at the wall at the front of the classroom. She wasn't hearing, wasn't seeing, wasn't feeling, she was simply existing. He knew that Jughead was to blame yet again. At Veronica's party he had thought they had fixed things, but now all he felt was anger towards him for leaving her broken again. He had texted him shortly after the breakup, demanding an explanation, but Jughead had gone silent on them all, which only infuriated him further.

"Betty?" Archie whispered as he glanced ahead of him towards her.

But she doesn't turn around. She only lies her chin on her desk and continues to stare ahead.

Betty glanced down at her palms, looking at the fresh wounds there. Her hands were covered in the surface scars now. The nasty habit had come back in full force the day he left her. Archie knew it too, he had tried to help her stop, but it seemed as if his pleas for her health fell on deaf ears. She hadn't told him that she'd started it again, she kept that to herself. She didn't need him worrying about her. She saw how all of her friends looked at her, even Kevin, how they watched her like she might explode at any second, or spiral into some deep depression that no one could pull her back from.

Betty's phone buzzes and she glances down at it. _Betty, please, can we talk? How about Pop's after school?_

 _No thanks Arch, I've got a lot of homework to catch up on_

Archie sighs as he reads the message. He knew he needed to get through to her. He wanted to fix things, if Jughead was going to hurt her like this, he would try to fix things for her. He could ignore Betty all he wanted, but he knew he wouldn't let him get away with ignoring them all. He was going to have to find a way to get his attention.

 _ **Thank you all for reading! Sorry it took so long for an update. I was super discouraged after the last upload because I barely received any reviews, it worried me that my writing was getting bad so I was nervous to upload another chapter. But I wanted to give it another go because I really believe in this story going somewhere. Thanks for taking time out of your day to read, even if you were unable to review.**_


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 _Protect your heart from thoughtless people who have no regard for the damage they cause. For they are reckless in their pursuit and hasty in their retreat, taking only what they wanted and leaving you to deal with the aftermath._

Archie stood before Jughead's door, his heart crashing against his chest, trying his best to hold back the anger that was threatening to spill out of him. He wanted to try to reason with him, he didn't want Jug storming off, or slamming the door in his face. He wanted to get an explanation out of him. He knocked and a moment later Jughead opened it.

"What do you want Archie?" he asks.

"Not gonna invite me in?" Archie answers.

Jughead sighs and pushes the door open, waiting for Archie to walk through before closing it behind him and following him in. Archie turns around to face him and Jughead crosses his arms over his chest.

"You gotta fix things Jug, I mean what were you thinking man?" Archie questions.

He sighs, shaking his head. "I should have guessed. Your here for Betty."

"Why else would I come here?" Archie replies. "It's not like you ever gave me the chance to fix things between us."

"Did you come here to scold me or do you for once have something worth hearing."

"Why did you leave her?" Archie replies. "Why? How could you put her through this all over again?"

"I don't owe anyone an explanation, especially not you" Jughead answers angrily.

"Yeah, actually you do" Archie interrupts. "You have no idea what you're putting her through. She's hurting, and you owe it to her to explain why you left her."

"Okay" Jughead says. For a moment Archie was taken by surprise and he's about to speak when Jughead continues. "I'll call her, now you can leave." Jughead ushers him towards he door and Archie smacks his arm off him.

"No" he says as he shakes his head adamantly. "That's not gonna cut it."

"This isn't any of your business, and my relationship with Betty definitely isn't."

Archie couldn't stop the feeling that rushed into him. He couldn't even think before his fist had crashed into Jughead's jaw, sending him to the ground. Jughead wiped the blood with the back of his hand.

"I don't understand what she ever saw in you" Archie growled. "She's better off without you. I know that now. You're a serpent now, and believe me I can tell. They're turning you into one them."

Jughead got level with him again, his jaw already beginning to swell. "At least I know they've got my back, which is more than you ever offered."

"Well have fun Jughead, you know who you're true family is, but you've turned your back on all of us. And so now we're just gonna return the favor. You'll never be welcomed back. We're done."

"You don't speak for all of them" Jughead returned. "And certainly not for Betty."

"She's finished with you, and if you ever think about coming back to her, forget it. I'm not letting you anywhere near her." Archie shoved past him and the door slammed behind him. Jughead threw his fists against the door and then slid his back down the wall as he pushed his hands into his head. His frustration getting the best of him. They would never understand. He was doing this for her. He was going to get better for her. But he couldn't do that when they were together. He needed to make sure it was safe for her before he brought her back into his life. But now Archie was involved, despite what he had told him, he hoped his word would falter, and that when Jughead returned to them that they would welcome him home.

 _ **Short chapter I know! Let me know what you think!**_


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jughead awoke to the sound of beeping medical equipment and the steady thrum of his heart. His whole body ached, and he could hardly open his eyes they were so swollen. The last thing he remembered was Penny, she had crept back into the Serpents, deceived them all, and the moment Jughead was out from under the watchful eye of FP and the protection of Sweet Pea and the other young serpents, Penny had put a hit on him. He'd been jumped coming back to Sunnyside Trailer Park after a trip to Pops. Jughead tried to sit up, but a sharp pain coursed through him, making him lose his breath. He lifted his shirt. There was a deep gash there, just under his ribs, it was covered in thick white bandages and already the blood was seeping through. It was then that he remembered. He'd been punched repeatedly until he was on the verge of passing out, just before he was being held down and Penny was carving into him with a sick smile on her face.

"Mr. Jones, you have a visitor."

The voice of the nurse pulled him from examining his wound and he looked towards the door. He half-expected it to be Archie, or Veronica, or even Betty. Secretly that's the first place his mind had gone, but instead it was Sweet Pea standing there, his tall build seeming to make him tower of the nurse.

"Five minutes, and then I have to come back in and check his injuries."

Sweet Pea nodded slightly, "No problem."

He smiled sympathetically as he walked over to the bedside and crossed his arms over his chest. "How ya holding up?"

"Where's Penny?" Jughead asked instantly as he tried to push himself up. He cringed against the searing pain and Sweet Pea winced as if he felt the injury himself.

"Take it easy" Sweet Pea answered. "You don't wanna tear the stitches and send the whole staff running back in here. According to them you have a pretty bad infection from the knife she used. She wasn't kidding about wanting to get you back."

"Sweet Pea, stop avoiding the question and tell me the truth. Where. Is. She?"

A worried look fell across Sweet Pea's face and he averted his eyes as he hesitated and then finally spoke. "They don't know. She was gone when FP found you. Last I heard he was going after her."

Jughead sighed and let his head fall back against the pillow. He knew his father wouldn't rest until he caught her. A wave of nausea suddenly came onto him and Jughead sat up quickly. Sweet Pea seemed to catch what was about to happen and rush to his side with a trash can by the door. Jughead vomited a few times, leaving him feeling shaky and even weaker than when he'd woken up. It was from the infected cut, and Jughead became a slight bit more concerned of how bad it must have been.

"They say you lost a lot of blood, do you want me to go get the nurse?"

Jughead shook his head, he could no longer keep his eyes open, but there was only one thing on his mind. "Can you do something for me?"

"Name it" Sweet Pea retorted.

Jughead struggled with the words before he finally let them pass over his split lips. "If any Northsiders show up, tell the doctor to keep them out."

"Your sure?" Sweet Pea questioned. "What about..."

"Yeah" Jughead interrupted. "Especially Betty."

 _ **Sorry it's been forever since an update! I got a new puppy and she is stealing all my extra time! I thought this would be a neat little cliffhanger though for you guys! If you can take a moment to review it would mean everything to me! Thanks to all my followers who have been following this story since the beginning! Truly grateful for your patience! Thank you new followers as well! You guys encourage me to keep going everyday!**_


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Betty sat out in the waiting room. She'd bee here nearly all day and she hadnt heard any updates about Jughead and how he was doing. She had asked to see him and her request had been rejected. She didnt understand. She couldn't keep her mind from sending her to the darkest places as she worried about Jughead. She sat waiting, as she watched the clock on the wall tick and tick endlessly. She spotted Sweet Pea and stood instantly to meet him.

"How is he?" Betty asked. "I tried to go and see him but they said it was family only..." she hesitated as she realized Sweet Pea had come from his room. She narrowed her eyes.

"How did you get to see him?" she asked.

"Betty look..." Sweet Pea started.

She pushed past him, heading for Jughead's room. If he got to see him than she knew that the "family only" rule from the nurse had been a lie, and she could see him if she wanted to. Sweet Pea rushed after her and blocked her way. "He doesn't want to see you alright?"

She froze. "I don't care, I need to see him." She moved for the door again and Sweet Pea held her back.

"Betty, I can't let you do that" he said.

Betty's eyes watered as she looked up at him. "Sweet Pea please! I need to know he's okay!"

"He is. You need to go."

Betty clenched her teeth as she looked into his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, and you can tell Jug I said so." She then turned and walked back to the waiting room, sitting down in the seat and crossing her arms as she glared over at him. Sweet Pea sighed. He knew he was going to regret this.

Betty sat beside Jughead, her hands over his as she looked down at him. He was sound asleep, but she knew he'd been through hell and she didnt want to wake him. She wanted to let him rest as much as he needed it. She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, and she couldn't help the tear that rolled down her cheek as she looked at him in this state. He was always so strong, and she couldn't bare to see him like this. She still hated him for what he'd done to her, but that wouldn't stop her from coming and making sure he was okay.

Jughead opened his eyes and sighed inwardly as he saw Betty looking down at him. Her big green eyes were red-rimmed and puffy and he hated himself for having to see her this way.

"Dammit Sweet Pea" he murmured as he cast his eyes away from her.

"Jug?" Betty asked as she smiled and leaned forward, relief rushing over her. "How are you feeling?"

"What are you doing here Betty?" Jughead asked.

She seemed surprised by his tone and then placed her hand on his cheek as she looked at how bruised and swollen it was. "I... I needed to make sure you were okay."

Jughead pulled away from her touch and her smile disappeared. He didn't ask her to come. He didn't want her here. He didn't want her to see him like this, not again. He couldn't stomach the way she was looking at him, the way she was pitying him, looking at him like he was some sad, broken person. He turned sharply to look over at her.

"I didn't ask you to come here" Jughead stated.

"Jug... I...I just had to make sure you..."

"I'm fine Betty!" he snapped.

She flinched at the anger in his voice and scowled as she met his eyes. "Why are you acting like this? What did I do to make you hate me so much?" she demanded.

"Stop Betty" Jughead interrupted. "You didn't do anything alright? I just want you to go."

"Why can't you be happy I'm here?" Betty questioned. "Why am I not enough for you? Just tell me what I did!"

Jughead pushed himself up abruptly, his eyes blazing as he glared over at her. "I don't want to be with you Betty, don't you get it?" he demanded. "We may have had something once, but it's over. I don't want anything to do with you!"

Betty gritted her teeth against the pain that was building in her chest. It was as if her entire world was crashing down, it was a pain so terrible she almost couldn't find her breath. She swallowed hard, holding back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"You deserve this" Betty said. "You deserve every bit of pain you're in. I can't believe I was stupid enough to come here." She grabbed her jacket off the chair and stormed out of the room. "I should have listened to Archie when he warned me not to come." She slammed the door behind her, and the room practically shook.

The moment she was gone Jughead let his head fall into his hands. In that moment he hated himself more than he ever thought possible. She would never forgive him for what he'd said. But they just didn't belong together. He refused to drag her down into the mess that was his life. He just wanted her safe, despite if she hated him in the meantime.

 _ **Thanks for reading! Leaving a review would make my day!**_


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Betty dug her fingernails deep into the palms of her hands, cringing as they bit into her flesh. How could she have been so stupid to go see him? Why couldnt she keep herself from caring? Her hands shook as she texted Archie, but then she stopped halfway through, slamming her phone down on the nightstand. She didn't want to admit to Archie that he had been right, he had warned her not to go and she'd gone anyway, determined to see Jug and make sure he was alright. She was sure he'd be happy to see her, even if they werent together anymore they were still friends right?

 _No not anymore,_ Betty thought to herself, Jughead had made it perfectly clear to her he wanted no part of her. She wracked her brain for something, something she must have done to upset him, but she couldn't think of a single thing. They had their share of fights but every couple did, didn't they? Betty climbed under her covers and let her head fall on her pillow as she stared up at the ceiling and listened to the thrum of her heartbeat as it slowly lulled her to sleep.

The next morning was Saturday and Betty remained inside, ignoring her phone as Veronica buzzed in, followed by Archie, and Betty just curled up tighter in the blankets. For some reason she found she didn't have the energy to reach for her phone. She held her palms up, wincing at the deep wounds. They were angry and puffy and she knew she would need to be careful to keep it hidden from them all, especially Archie.

A knock resounded at the door and Betty closed her eyes quickly, feining sleep. Her mother walked in and felt her forehead, worried that Betty had caught the flu. It wasn't like her daughter to close herself away and to sleep in so late into the morning. It was already 11 am. Alice laid the clothes she was carrying down and decided to give her daughter a little more time to rest as she walked out, closing the door behind her.

As the hours ticked by Betty slept and slept, it seemed it was all she felt like doing all of the sudden. It wasn't until she felt the covers yanked off of her that her eyes flew open on instinct and she sat up straight. A furious looking Veronica stood before her, hands on her hips and lips pursed.

"Where the hell have you been?" Veronica asked. "And why aren't you answering your phone? Did you forget our plans to go shopping for prom today?"

"Why bother" Betty said under her breath as she pulled the covers back over her.

Veronica sighed as her and she sat on the edge of her bed. "Betty, you can't just stay in here forever because of some dumb guy."

Betty glared at her. "He wasn't just some dumb guy to me Ronnie."

"Look, being alone all the time isn't good for you, and especially not secluding yourself from everyone who cares about you, you have us all..."

"Worried" Betty finished. "Yeah I know, but there's nothing to worry about I'm fine alright? I just want to be left alone."

"Well I'm not accepting that" Veronica answered as she crossed her arms. "I'm not going anywhere."

Betty sighed and sat up again, she couldn't meet Veronica's eyes. She remembered she still hadn't admitted to her that Archie had kissed her, and she knew it would hurt her, it would be the end of her and Archie, but she deserved the truth, and if Archie wouldn't tell her it was up to Betty. After all, she wanted to be left alone, and if this was the only way to do it she knew she had to do it. She couldn't stand the guilt anymore.

"You don't want to be around me Veronica, not after what I'm about to tell you."

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked suspiciously.

"Archie kissed me" Betty admitted. "While you two were still together, I know I should have told you sooner..."

"So why didn't you?" Veronica demanded as she stood from the bed. "How could you do this to me?"

"Veronica..." Betty started as she stood up and walked towards her. "I'm sorry I..."

"No" Veronica interrupted. "Just don't." She then turned and strode from the room, her fists clenched by her side. Betty sat back down, covering her face as she cried. She had lost her best friend, she knew she needed her, but she couldn't keep looking her in the eyes like everything between them was fine after what Archie had done. She hoped he wouldn't be too upset with her for telling Veronica, but after all maybe she hoped he did hate her. It would be easier that way. Easier to keep them all away. She didn't deserve any of them, what was to keep them from leaving her eventually anyways? After all Jughead had claimed to love her and then he had left her, there was something wrong with her, and Betty was determined to tear herself apart to figure it out.

 _ **Struggled a little harder with writing this chapter but it should go a little smoother from this moment on!**_


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Archie paced back and forth, Veronica had broken up with him over the phone, he knew it was bound to happen soon enough, but he didn't think Betty would have told her. He knew he couldn't blame her, Veronica was her best friend, he just wished he would have done the right thing and told her earlier.

She had been ignoring his texts as he tried to apologize. He knew it was over, he had lost her, all because he had acted on his feelings towards Betty. He had never wanted to hurt either of them. He knew he hadn't been thinking straight. He sighed as he looked down as his phone, pushing his hand through his red hair as he took a breath and gathered his courage. Veronica picked up on the fourth ring.

"What do you want Archie?" Veronica questioned.

"Please Ronnie, I... I just want to fix this" Archie stated.

"There's nothing to fix," Veronica answered. "You kissed my best friend and then kept it from me."

"I don't know what I was thinking Ronnie..." he hesitated. "I just, I'm so sorry."

"It's too late Archie" she answered. And then the phone went silent and Archie tossed his phone on to his bed as he laid back and looked up at the ceiling. He knew there was nothing he could say to change what had happened or to change her mind.

Weeks passed, and Betty became more withdrawn. Archie sat with Reggie and the rest of the football team, his whole group had been dismembered it seemed. Veronica and Kevin followed each other everywhere and even Cheryl had seemed to have grown closer to her. Archie glanced over at Betty and watched as she looked down at her paper and scribbled something down. She'd become so quiet, so much to herself, and she'd lost a number of her friends as a result. She just wasn't the same since Jug left.

"What's up with Cooper?" Reggie questioned as he followed Archie's gaze.

"I don't know Reg" Archie answered, though he knew exactly what had changed her so much. As much as he wanted to go up to her and apologize for everything, to set things right, to ask how she was doing, he knew it wouldn't change anything. She had shut him out, she'd shut them all out, and there was no fixing it.

"She's lost her mind" Reggie said. "Chuck's in her home room, said she's always looking over her shoulder as if she's expecting someone to attack her. He tapped her on the shoulder to ask her a question and he said she nearly fell out of her seat, he startled her so bad. Looks like Cooper's turned into a freak, just like that serpent Jughead. Looks like they were meant for each other after all."

The whole table erupted into laughter and Chuck clapped him on the back as he bit into his sandwich.

Archie turned his glance from Betty to him, his eyes shining with anger that he was trying his hardest to hold back. "You better shut up Reggie" he said through his teeth.

"Watch this" Chuck said as he smacked Reggie's shoulder, glancing over at Archie with a smirk. He stood from the table and grinned as he looked over at Betty. Archie stood as well and pushed him back, blocking his path.

"Don't do anything stupid Andrews" Chuck stated. "I'm just gonna join Betty for lunch, she does seem rather lonely don't you think?"

"I'm not gonna let you mess with her" Archie said, his voice becoming tight and harsh.

"Last I checked, you abandoned her, so what do you care?" Chuck replied. Archei hesitated in response and Chuck smirked darkly. "Oh, I get it, even after she rejected you, you're still in love with her aren't you?"

"Chuck maybe you shouldn't" Reggie spoke up, all humor gone from his face as he looked between the two of them.

"You're pathetic" Chuck stated. "She's never gonna like you, we all know what happened between you two, and she's never going to forgive you. Besides, she's in love with someone else, and we both know that."

Archie thought of Jughead instantly and it angered him more than words could describe. After all this time, she was still in love with Jug, even after he had broken her heart. He wasn't good enough for her, and Archie knew he could be the one for her. He'd never hurt her, he wanted to be there for her, to help her heal, and he had left her when she needed him most.

"I don't care what you say Chuck, I still care about her, and I'm not gonna let you go get inside her head" Archie stated.

"Whatever" Chuck said as he turned and walked off. A few of the football players followed after him and Reggie was left sitting with Archie.

"Arch" he said, "I'm sorry man, I didn't know you still cared about her."

"It's fine" Archie replied. He knew it was time to step up. She may have tried to push him away, but he wasn't going anywhere. He wouldn't give up that easily. He'd known Betty Cooper for years, he knew her better than anyone, and in that moment he realized it was his job to save her from herself.

 _ **Thanks for reading! I would love to hear from you guys! Thanks for all the attention and positive feedback! My followers mean the world to me! Let me know your thoughts on this chapter! If you liked it, future predictions, what you'd like to see happen, just hit that comment button!**_


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Betty stared at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes seemed to have lost their shine and she seemed so much more tired than she remembered. She didn't know what to do with herself. She had no friends, no Jughead, her parents marriage was falling apart, she didn't have anything. She had lost it all. She needed a fresh start, she looked down at the duffel she had packed. She wouldn't find it here. There was nothing for her here anymore. Even Archie had abandoned her, the boy she had known her entire life, her best friend.

She put the bag on her shoulder and sneaked out the front door, making sure her mother didn't hear her as she closed it quietly behind her. She turned around and froze. Archie was standing before her.

"Archie?" Betty questioned, her blue eyes watering. "What are you doing here?"

"Going somewhere?" Archie asked as he looked at the bag hanging on her shoulder.

"Why would you care?" she questioned. She immediately regretted how bitter it sounded.

"You can't just run" he said. "Where are you even gonna go?"

"I'll figure something out Arch" she replied as she walked down her front steps and past him. He turned and followed her, there was no way he was going to let her be out here at night by herself.

"Betty come on" Archie said as he walked with her. "You don't wanna do this. Just use your head for a second."

She spun towards him, anger burning in her eyes. "I have used my head Archie, this is the only thing that will make me happy, getting away from it all."

He shook his head, "You still have me, I'm sorry I haven't been there for you lately, but you've been pushing everyone away that tries to help you."

"I don't need help!" Betty snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"No" Archie answered.

Betty stopped walking and turned to glance back at him, clearly surprised by his response.

"What?" Betty questioned.

"I'm sorry but I'm not leaving you alone to deal with whatever's been going on with you alone" he replied.

"Don't act like you care!" Betty said, her eyes alight with tears that threatened to spill. "You told me you didn't love me Arch." Her voice nearly broke as she said the words. "Not you, not Jughead, no one wants me."

Archie walked towards her, placing his hand softly on her cheeks. "That was a long time ago" he replied. "I do love you Betty. You should know that."

"What about Veronica?" Betty asked.

"That's over" Archie answered. "I was never in love with her, I thought I was, but now I know, it's always been you Betty."

Betty shook her head, placing her hand over his, "Arch, I wish I could believe you."

"Please, just trust me?"

Betty thought back to Jughead. He had promised he had loved her, that he would never leave her again, and then he had shut her out of his life completely. He had told her right to her face that he didn't want her. How was she supposed to believe that Archie somehow now cared so deeply for her.

"I... can't" Betty replied as her voice brook. She threw her arms across his neck and hugged him tight, kissing his cheek as she whispered, "I'm so sorry Archie." And with those final words Betty turned and ran off, leaving Archie standing there. This time he was the one hurting. He had no idea what to do next. She didn't trust him, didn't believe him, and Archie didn't blame her. He blamed Jughead, all of this had happened because of him.

 _ **END! Hope you all enjoyed!**_


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